M Golf

No. 1 Bulldogs win 1st tourney of new year

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast edged Central Alabama by two strokes to break the 54-hole tie and win the Wallace State Fall Invitational on Tuesday in Cullman, Ala.

"To beat a team like CACC at a course they're very familiar with, and to beat Wallace State on their home course, that's a big win for us," said Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell.

Jon Hopkins (Fr., Hockerill Anglo-European College/Bishops Stortford, England) shot 5-under 67 in the final round to surge into second place in the individual standings. He finished four back of Calhoun's Sam Murphy.

"I played well," Hopkins said. "I missed quite a few short ones on the first day, but apart from that it was good."

Gulf Coast, the defending NJCAA Division II national champions, finished 16-under to beat three teams in the Bushnell Golfweek NJCAA Division I Coaches Poll. Central Alabama is ranked fifth in the poll. Wallace State, ranked 10th, finished third at 4-under and Eastern Florida, ranked seventh, was fourth at 3-under.

Cameron Mobley (Fr., Northwest Rankin/Brandon) finished 4-under, tied for seventh, and Brice Wilkinson (So., Madison Central/Madison) was tied for 11th at even par. Miles Jackson (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) was another shot back tied for 13th, and Carter Nicholson (So., Pearl River Central/Carriere) was 24th.

Meridian was the only other MACJC team in the tournament, and the Eagles finished sixth at 23-over.

"It's the first time we've won this event, so that's a pretty good start to the season," Hopkins said. "It's going to be a strong team this year."